Tahoe School Thinks “Outside the Box”
September to almost 70 students, Tahoe Expedition Academy has been buzzing with
curiosity, adventure and authentic learning experiences.“I’m awash in the wonderfulness of it all,” said Margo Redfern, one of the founders of the
school. “All four of my kids are wildly happy; they passionately love school and
are learning like sponges.”
Just seven months from concept to reality,
this Expeditionary Learning school exemplifies what a devoted community can
create. The results are “nothing short of magical,” said founder, teacher and
co-director DC Larrabee. “There is no other way to explain how we have come so
far in such a short amount of time.”
While high academic standards are
non-negotiable, EL teaches that accomplishments take more than book knowledge.
Along with rigorous traditional class work, “students learn that it takes
character and perseverance — overcoming fear and failure- to be successful,”
said teacher Stephanie Gibbons.
Created 17 years ago at Harvard, Expeditionary Learning is based on the teachings of
Kurt Hahn, the founder of Outward Bound. With more than 165 schools in the US,
the academic success of EL has drawn considerable attention. The Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation has donated over 23 million dollars to EL, and
President Obama has called this model an “example of how all schools should be.”
EL challenges students and teachers to be actively involved, “crew not
passengers,” in their own learning.
“My teaching has been re-inspired and reinvented,” said Taylor Simmers, middle school teacher and co-director of the
academy. “Creating hands-on learning activities and character building lessons; integrating social studies, science and literacy; and designing academic
adventures are exciting challenges for me.”
Already this year, Simmers’ class joined the fourth and fifth graders on a three-day backpacking trip. The
trip began with a “trust fall” — students and adults took turns falling from a
boulder into the arms of the group; the activity was used as a physical metaphor
throughout the adventure to remind students that they can overcome their fears
and find value and gratification in taking calculated intellectual, physical,
social and emotional risks. This is a lesson just as important as the plant
life, navigation and history, which students discovered first-hand on their
outdoor journey.
Perched high above the Tahoe Basin, students listened to readings from Herman Melvin and J.D. Salinger, which led to reflective journal
entries and group “Spirit Reads.” Later, local experts taught fire-making, tree
mapping and wild plant identification. Children investigated biologic
adaptations and specializations. They also began to create a high quality
project that will be used to educate other children in the
community.
With eight years of full-time outdoor education experience in
the Tahoe Basin, Simmers considers this trip “the most comprehensive (he has)
ever been a part of in the backcountry. The learning kept coming and coming and
coming.”
And it has kept coming — in October his students spent five days
hiking over 15 miles of the Tahoe Rim Trail. They learned about the geology of
the Tahoe Basin and discovered much about peers and themselves.
Preschool three- and four-year-olds spend hours each day exploring the trails
behind the school studying nature, building wooden teepees and testing their
physical and intellectual limits.Second and Third Grade have been studying the local Indian tribes, visiting local story tellers, and comparing
the life of a fictional Indian child to their own by interviewing their parents
about the day they were born.
Meanwhile, Kindergarten and First Grade have been transported back in time to Tahoe 100 years ago. Local experts have
taught them how to print newspaper, make soap and dip candles. A field study to
Watson Cabin left the children with a time capsule full of old fashioned games
and songs they sing with teacher Melanie Cooke as she plays the
guitar.
Cooke loves the EL practice of studying topics that are an inch wide and a mile deep.
“When we study one topic for the whole semester we
have time to really delve into the content … to make real world connections
through field work and local experts,” she said.
“As a result,” explains Larrabee, “our understanding of the universe radiates from the academic
experiences we share in this serendipitous, one-of-a-kind, intellectually
engaging environment, the Lake Tahoe Basin.”
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